Uche Cecil Izuora
U.S crude import from Nigeria recorded a slight drop in the first quarter of this year.
According to reports, the United States imported crude oil valued at $578.78 million from Nigeria in the first quarter of 2026, marking a 15.06 per cent decline compared to the $681.40 million recorded during the same period in 2025.
The latest figures, released in the March 2026 international trade report by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis, showed that imports of Nigerian crude on a Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) basis fell by $102.62 million year-on-year.
The report also showed that the U.S. imported 7.84 million barrels of crude oil from Nigeria between January and March 2026, down from 8.44 million barrels recorded in the corresponding period of 2025. This represents a decline of 0.59 million barrels or 7.03 per cent.
Monthly data indicated a sharp drop in imports between February and March 2026. U.S. crude imports from Nigeria stood at 4.64 million barrels in February before declining to 1.54 million barrels in March, suggesting weaker short-term demand and possible supply adjustments.
Equally, Nigerian crude imports into the U.S. also dropped significantly month-on-month, falling from $345.33 million in February to $114.49 million in March 2026.
Customs value data, which excludes freight and insurance costs, reflected a similar trend.
The year-to-date customs value of Nigerian crude imports stood at $561.69 million in Q1 2026, compared to $663.79 million during the same period in 2025, representing a decline of 15.38 per cent.
However, Nigeria maintained its position among the leading African crude suppliers to the United States, although competition from other African exporters increased during the period.
The report also showed that U.S. crude imports from Africa rose to $1.66 billion in the first quarter of 2026 from $1.10 billion recorded in 2025, indicating stronger contributions from countries including Libya and Ghana.
Nigeria’s share of total African crude exports to the U.S. dropped to about 34.8 per cent in Q1 2026, compared to approximately 61.7 per cent during the same period last year.
The report noted that Nigerian crude grades continue to remain important to U.S. refiners due to the country’s light sweet crude quality, despite changing global trade dynamics and demand patterns.
The data also points to a moderation in U.S. demand for Nigerian crude amid evolving global energy trade flows, price movements, and supply adjustments.
Meanwhile, figures from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) showed that crude oil sales dropped sharply to 17.37 million barrels in March 2026 from 22.85 million barrels in February and 25.75 million barrels in January.
Crude oil production, however, remained relatively stable at 1.56 million barrels per day in March, the same level recorded in February, while improving slightly from 1.51 million barrels per day in January.
The NNPCL attributed part of the production challenges to disruptions on the Trans Forcados Pipeline caused by a leak at the Keremor axis, which affected production volumes between February 20 and March 25.
“The Trans Forcados Pipeline outage, resulting from a leak at the Keremor axis, negatively impacted production volumes, leading to curtailments across several assets from February 20 to March 25, alongside other operational challenges,” the NNPCL said.
Despite the setbacks, NNPC said it is implementing recovery plans aimed at stabilising production and improving operational reliability.
“NNPC Limited continues to strengthen production resilience by executing restoration plans focused on improving asset reliability, resolving evacuation constraints, and implementing other targeted recovery initiatives,” the company added.